T&L Blog

Blog Post by Lisa Clenaghan

I have a love/hate relationship with research. On the one hand I am a true advocate for it; research informed initiatives have undeniably changed my practice over the years from when I first started my GTP year, ranging from Bloom’s taxonomy, Gardner’s theories of emotional intelligence, VAK learning styles, Learning to Learn, Brain Gym (!) Black and Williams’ Formative Assessment as well as other various coaching principles. All of which have crafted my teaching and learning and have provided me with my toolkit foundation. Now, it seems, everyone is basing their practice on Rosenshine, and quite rightly, too. Where my frustrations lie, is that this then fuels (often) sanctimonious cycles of trends that offer too much theory and not enough practical based solutions to teachers who are overworked and overloaded with new initiatives. It is this that then forces me to select the research I rely on to open me to new practical solutions.

I have followed the work of Alex Quigley for a couple of years now, and after the EEF published it’s guide: Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools, noticed he was one of the key authors. Much of the work at Meden on disciplinary literacy is a result of the research included in this publication. What excited me most, is that finally I had research AND practical strategies grounded in reading development and vocabulary acquisition.

We’ve all familiarised ourselves with tiered vocabulary and continue to grapple with the demands of ensuring our students can access terms to decipher, decode and apply subject specific terminology, but HOW DO WE TEACH A WORD? WHAT EVEN IS VOCAUBLARY INSTRUCTION?  We all teach new words, but how many of us can articulate the methods we use to do so? As a school, this is what needs to develop to secure our understanding of tiered vocabulary.

For too long, I spent years telling students to ‘grab a dictionary’ or ‘try the thesaurus’ but quickly found that in ALL of the departments I have worked in, this meant trying to source such an elusive tatty object in the first place that actually presented more problems than solutions.

For me, the SEEC model is the answer. In order to explicitly teach vocabulary, we have to define a method to do so that is simple, effective and does what it says on the tin. In order to ensure children develop an understanding of important words, a teacher must follow through phases of instruction:

SELECT – Preview reading material and word choice before the lesson. It is imperative to focus on Tier 2 words in order to cement Tier 3 words.

EXPLAIN – Explain the word (there are quick and effective ways of doing this that do not detract from the content of your lesson)

EXPLORE – This isn’t always practical, but it should be an important consideration when exploring words that are integral to understanding.

CONSOLIDATE – In order to understand a word, we need to be exposed to it repeatedly. This goes beyond knowledge organisers!

Some of you may have heard of The Frayer Model, a graphic organiser for building student vocabulary created by Dorothy Frayer in the 60s! This is an alternative to that, which in my opinion, cements vocab instruction over time without detracting from subject content. It is this that unlocks students’ word consciousness to develop word rich classrooms.

On Wednesday 4th March, I am meeting representatives from English, Humanities and Science to discuss ways of implementing some methods for each element of the SEEC model. I have also included other dates if you wish to find out more so please get in touch. This method has truly developed my practice, and as a result, has equipped my students with terms that allowed them to speak and write academically which manifests itself it better outcomes for them.

Blog Post by Louise Michell

“Miss, we have heard the school production is being cancelled”

This is an often repeated quotation that I have heard whilst directing a school production.  It comes at the moment in the rehearsal process when students know that the deadline of learning lines is impending and that they will be soon performing in front of a live audience.  Fear and self-doubt begin to set in amongst the cast and they feel it would be better for everyone if the production was cancelled. Risks of performing live can be avoided. Embarrassment is negated. Mistakes never happen. Reputations remain. Right?

It is during this stage in the process that my role of a director is to reassure and to build resilience amongst the cast. Students need to have that self-belief (or be given it!) so that they can achieve what they have set out to do. I often tell them real stories from past school productions in which students have missed out a whole scene and somehow managed to slot it back into the performance. Can you imagine?! Then there’s the one in which students who have forgotten their lines. As in ‘completely forgotten’ them… but with the help of others in the cast the performance still carried on. And the one in which the set was falling over due to design problems but miraculously on the night they were fixed during the interval! All of these occurred without the audience even knowing. The show must go on!

 I remind the students that it is a live performance, and it is inevitable that there might be things that don’t go to plan.  Incidents like these even occur in West End theatres. But this is what makes theatre so unique and exciting to watch, it is the unexpected of the unknown that keeps the audience intrigued and entertained. Students need to be given reassurance and they need to be reminded that the end result is almost within reach. It is only a fingertip away. By insisting that giving up is not an option, resilience builds.  Yes, resilience builds for the school production but how do you think they might react later when they have to learn a short speech for their English assessment? Or if revising for an exam and the answer they need isn’t forthcoming? Or taking part in a sport event, and the other side has just put four straight goals past them? It is a life skill that we can all take part in building. We can all take part by offering challenge, by offering an open door towards support, but by raising the bar incredibly high towards ‘escape’.

In drama productions I constantly bang on about working as part of a team, not just amongst the acting cast but with the student back stage and lighting crew – everyone’s involvement is essential to ensuring the success of the final performance.  Having students involved in helping to paint the set design, promote and advertise the performance, assisting with front of house on the performance night all help students to realise that they are working together. They all share in the successes, and because we all support each other, we all share in gaining skills around ‘resilience’.

This year the drama department has been very fortunate to again be selected to take part in the National Theatre Connections Scheme in which students perform a brand new play commissioned by the National Theatre.  It will be first shown at Meden School and then at Doncaster Theatre. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity that increases ‘cultural capital’ amongst our students. Students will get the opportunity to work with a director from the National Theatre and also see how a regional theatre works by shadowing the roles of the lighting and sound crew and the stage manager.  The cast spend a full day at Doncaster Theatre experiencing a technical run-through on a professional stage and then performing in front of an audience. Meden students will also get to watch other theatre groups and schools perform other plays commissioned by the Connections scheme.  This process of team-building, school production, work-shadowing and large-scale dramatic production offers challenge, support, and a great chance of success.

When productions cease, and the ‘wrap party’ has barely been tidied, there is monumental self-belief amongst the cast and crew. At this time, there is another quotation I always hear from students too:

“That was awesome Miss, I want to perform that again, when can we go on tour?!”

Blog Post by Natasha Wallett

“Put up your hands if you enjoy reading”, I asked at the start of the year with a year seven class. No response. If ever there was a prime example of a ‘tumbleweed’ moment, this would have been it. And yet, we know there is so much to enjoy and learn from reading! 
As an English teacher I have grown used to questions of “why do we need to learn about Macbeth?” or “what will this poem teach me?” In fact, on Friday, I was asked by someone in the same year seven class as above, “how will this help me to become a paramedic?” My answer varies depending on the question, but it always focuses on why it’s enjoyable to read and how being a ‘reader’ in itself makes for success, whatever aspirations you have!
For students, reading is something that is completed in lesson in order to pass an exam. Often, and I know from experience, elements of fun or pleasure can sometimes be removed owing to the fact that we analyse it to death! No matter what subject we teach, however, reading well is crucial to our students’ success, both in school but also beyond it. 
And so, this year in English, we have trialled a weekly ‘reading for enjoyment’ lesson to combat the sense of boredom students sometimes feel when we read. In this lesson, students are read to along with elements of independent and group reading. There is no ‘exam question’ to answer at the end- purely discussion and questioning about character, plot and their overall perception of the book. Reading progression, instead, can be measured through STAR testing, which calculates reading progression in terms of students’ reading ages termly. In this lesson, we hope to reframe students’ opinions of reading as something that is not dull and tedious, but something that can be exciting and interesting. We want students to ultimately build character through their study of it. 
So far, the responses to these lessons have been positive. Students ask, when coming to lesson “are we reading today?”, and when we aren’t, there are sighs! To get students excited about being read to, and about choosing books and discussing books, is really something we can be excited about too. 
Alongside the reading lesson, a weekly intervention for our weaker readers has been taking place in year seven. In these sessions, enjoying reading itself has been a focus to try and challenge perceptions of what it means to read for pleasure. We know that students who find things challenging are sometimes prone to giving up. We felt that we needed to address this as early as possible to give our students the best possible levels of support with reading. This, we hope, will build more confident and skilled readers as they progress through education. 
The intervention session aims to support students through reading collectively in small groups. The environment is supportive and provides space for discussion and clarification where needed. It also allows for tailored and targeted support for our readers. Students have been positive about this and see it not as an extra English lesson but more of a ‘club’, where we support, discuss and enjoy! 
Whilst there are no quick fixes in terms of supporting and developing reading amongst our students, we hope that the strategies we are using to promote reading for enjoyment in and out of lessons will support and challenge our students academically, but also help them to build character and skills for life after school! 
I hope that over time, asking students if they enjoy reading will be less of a ‘tumbleweed moment’ and more of an enthusiastic “yes!”

Blog Post by Kelly Zaccardelli

Improvement in literacy is high stakes in education today. It is clearly a hot topic. We all know to look for basic use of punctuation and spelling when marking students’ work, and we all have subject specific keywords and terminology that we use daily but it wasn’t until I started to really look at what literacy means in Art that I realised the curriculum covers so much more and that subjects have ‘invisible literacies’.

Arts-literacies enable students unique ways of looking at the world that aren’t available in any other subject area. Through artistic ideas, learners can both read, write, listen, think critically, and communicate ideas.  Anything that must be “interpreted” can be defined as text, that includes artwork and art prints. So anytime I have my students “read” a work of art, I am embedding literacy! Since art-work is truly a text itself and most visual art is deployed as a form of communication, background information and a viewer’s understanding of art principles is needed to be an informed participant. Students in Art lessons analyse artists work, critique their own work and the work of others. Throughout KS3 and KS4 students regularly annotate their work to explain processes, learning and next steps. Students write statements of intent, development reviews and evaluations. Students discuss mood and atmosphere, artist intent, historical and cultural influence. They read the formal elements and visual language of a work. Research, form their own opinions, compare and contrast. All in aid of developing their own style as an artist, in developing their own original ideas and creativity, as well as helping them to understand the world around them.  What invisible literacies are in your subject area?

The biggest challenge I’ve encountered is getting students to recognise key skills are transferable between subjects. Haps students at KS3 were not analysing or describing at the same level in Art as they were in English. Another hurdle has been preparing students for independent practice to ensure students do not become reliant on writing frames or structure strips. I have discovered sentence starters were restrictive as students couldn’t see beyond this and answers would be minimal. As Rosenshine’s Principles in Action explains,

“…students need to be weaned off them as they reach higher levels where a greater degree of flair and individuality is expected.”

The knowledge organisers have been a key tool in getting students to retain key concepts, terminology and vocabulary seeing a vast improvement in quality of writing already. Weekly review is significant in that it allows students to reactivate recently acquired knowledge and provides a platform for prior knowledge to be built upon in the subsequent lesson. Knowledge organiser tests at the beginning of lessons have provided routine, consistency and a calmer working environment but much more than that they have enabled me to add more layers of complexity each lesson knowing that students have understood. It allows me to check misconceptions quickly and easily and then provide extra challenge. Curriculum mapping has also been crucial in considering how Year 7 impacts results at Year 11. For example; Year 9 is now used to embed analytical skills with students preparing rough drafts and using tables to help them organise and structure information. Year 10 use structure strips and model answers to aid content in extended writing and Year 11 are now no longer reliant on such support but use them as self-assessment tools, allowing more time for practical investigations. It’s important to remember that scaffolds are temporary if we want students to write with more sophistication.   

Blog Post by Craig Gibbison

I have been at Meden for over 9 years now and over recent years have had the privilege of visiting so many lessons on a daily basis. I get to see students thrive and experience amazing lessons every single day.

I get to see the good (often amazing), bad and very occasionally the ugly. This can, of course, happen when you work with teenagers. It is inevitable.

Meden students claim they hate rules/boundaries and often claim that they attend a ‘prison’ rather than a school but they love it really; care, support and typicality- although they would never admit it!

So I thought I would share what makes the lessons I see at our school successful because in my opinion they are all underpinned by teachers ensuring the 3 R’s are at the forefront of their lessons: Respect, Routines and Relationships.

Some of our students have non of these in their lives and we can often forget this when carrying out our daily practice. What is important to us is often not important to them. Therefore WE have to model excellence – day in, day out.

Respect, is of course, a two way process but we always need to take the lead to show the students what it means and what it looks like, through how we behave. Our students excel in lessons when they feel respected and this often occurs through verbal and non-verbal communications that they have with you, as the teacher. You have the power to empower and must always remember that. YOU will be at least one student’s role-model in life!

When considering and reviewing classroom behaviour, the worst time for us as a school is always after a half term. Why? Because some students have lacked a daily routine for a week, two weeks or more. It may take a week or two (sometimes more!) to ensure students regain that routine but that stems from you – use your energies to ensure this takes place.

So why do some students thrive in some of our lessons and not others? Because in the lessons they are most successful in, they know what to expect (routines). How they enter the room, where to sit, when they are allowed to communicate, how you as the teacher will ‘typically’ respond to different situations….and so on. These routines take time to establish but then save you time in the long run. Meden students enjoy order and processes. Take the time to develop your own routines and reap the rewards in terms of engagement and also achievement. It will manifest itself in longevity.

Finally and most importantly in my experience – focus on building relationships with our students.

It takes time to ‘crack’ them. Get to know as many students as you can- they shouldn’t just be a predicted grade on a mark sheet.
What makes them tick? Who needs comforting and who needs taking out of their comfort zone? If you show you care and believe in them, aspirations and achievement go through the roof.

Blog Post by Matt Hamer

People probably define me as the “Head of Year 7,” however if someone was to ask me what my job title is, my answer will always be “PE and Business Teacher.” I take great care and pride in my additional roles of being the Head of Y7 and being a DSL, and I feel very fortunate and privileged to be given the opportunities that I have to impact on the lives of young people, however, I see these roles as exactly that… additional.

In a busy day/week/term, my thought process is always on my classes, I suppose Y11 in particular, and my time, priorities and energy will be put into those first, thus allowing me to filter down my responsibilities from there. My goal is to ensure the students in my classes are successful but I am also empowered to support others to ensure their students are successful through my pastoral support.

Just stop a second and think about how lucky we are; we have 25 young people in front of us, some of them can’t afford a new pair of shoes, some of them are in foster care, some dealing with a family bereavement, some simply have no support/guidance at home… and yet 23 of them would do anything you’d ever ask of them! Yet, we all love to focus and complain on those 2 that don’t – maybe that’s okay though, as long as we focus on them correctly. Here’s how I do:

As a teacher, like us all, I try my best to teach from the top down. I will always teach the students how to get full marks on the exam question/piece of coursework, with the aim for each student to reach as close to that goal as they possibly can. However, there may be a way of doing that whilst focusing on those “2” who have barriers. When planning a lesson or making a resource/task, I always think of how engaged (name of boy with poor ATL) would be. With anything “you’re only as strong as your weakest link.” I always feel if I get those individuals on side, then the rest will follow along. When modelling an answer, for example, I aim to target (name of boy with poor ATL) to support with the answer, because let’s be honest, without us (me and his peers), he’s too lazy to do it himself, so let’s guide him along with the process… maybe he’ll have a chance then?

You’re probably thinking, wait on, “what about those 23 legends in the class?”….. We’ve already established this, they will be fine as you’ve put the structures in place to allow them to achieve at the highest level, you’ve told them how to get full marks, and they’ll do all they can to get as close to that, anyway. If everything was our priority, then nothing would be – so when you feel like you’re spinning too many plates, remember your main priority and keep it as exactly that.

Final thought.

As teachers, how often do we feel let down because that child got 2 grades below their target? Or you didn’t hit FFT20 because of uncontrollable factors?  This in turn equates to us answering questions about the who/what/whys.  Let’s just make sure we do our part so (name of boy with poor ATL/ HAP girl) doesn’t feel the same level of disappointment, too.

Blog Post by Tracy Taplin

When developing my T&L to have a positive impact on disadvantaged boys, it was clear from the onset that I had to develop structures; structures rooted in planning. I first read about cognitive overload a few years ago, which transformed my approach as to what I teach and how I teach it. The shift in presenting aims and outcomes in words stemming from specifications to key questions phrased in student friendly terms was imperative to providing a clear foundation  to my lessons. Students came to learn there would be no deviating from this and therefore no surprises. A consistent approach from the start means that learning environments are stable, purposeful and conducive to learning – all essential as this focus group of boys often lack the consistency needed for long-term learning and attitudes to learning.

Modelling has been hugely successful in the English department particularly in relation to active questioning of students, but i was keen to use modelling to provide further clear yet challenging explanations. By verbalising my thought processes I have sought to approach alien concepts in a relevant way to boys in particular. For instance, when approaching the poem War Photographer, I knew students would struggle with the concept of developing photos from solutions and linking this to the Killing Fields of Cambodia, so I used Snapchat as a way of discussing who is responsible for taking photos and sharing them, and linking to conflict relevant to them, as a ‘hook’ in. In terms of linking this to ATL, I could then verbally model the attitudes needed to tackle sensitive and challenging topics.

With boys in general, it is imperative to provide them with enough space to practice. Whilst timing for exam responses are crucial, it is important to space this gradually over time. It enables whole class feedback to be used to clarify misconceptions as opposed to rushing through content, the result of which would usually end in feelings of failure. I like to focus on  retrieval practice of skills rather than concept, to bridge the gap between ATL and equating short term failure with long term success. For example, I teach and re-teach active reading strategies and writing frames, and revisit these structures consistently and over time. This is proven to be powerful as disadvantaged boys who have a lack of ability to recall content, develop strategies to apply structures to different contexts. It is worth noting, of course, that these particular strategies have the power to have a positive impact on all students.

Blog Post by Matt McCartney

Educational underachievement and disengagement amongst boys has been cited as a key area of concern within the British educational system for decades, as evidenced in Ofsted reports (Allen, 2013), academic studies (Younger and Warrington, 2005) and Parliamentary Reports (House of Commons Education Committee, 2014). The persistence of disengagement within this particular group of learners begs the question of why it remains such a problem for teachers, academics and politicians to address given it has been documented for so long. With this question in mind it seemed pertinent to reflect on personal experience of learner disengagement and my own actions in dealing with it (Schön, 1983). Since joining the teaching profession 10 years ago, I have observed a feeling of apathy amongst males, which appears to peak during GCSEs i.e. year 10/11. This behaviour can take many forms, but is typically characterised by a general lack of focus, shouting out, throwing paper, playing on phones and talking over the teacher. Whilst these behaviours are overt and disruptive to the whole class, thus requiring an immediate response from the teacher, often it is this very response which leads to other more covert signs of disengagement i.e. that of the quiet but inattentive learner going unnoticed. While in agreement with the logic of removing disruptive pupils as it allows the teacher to concentrate on the willing and attentive learner, nevertheless, this is a short term and wholly ineffective solution to understanding the problem in a more holistic way and also ignores the distinct possibility that the issue lies more with the system and less with the individual learner. If the go-to strategy for example is to quickly remove a disruptive and unwilling learner, even though this may be an understandable course of action, it is conceivable these students will perceive the action as prejudicial and judgemental, resulting in the adverse effect whereby the disengaged pupil becomes further distanced from learning and never actually feels listened to.

On reflection and in an effort to rationalise the behaviour of this social-group in the early stages of my career, my initial conclusion was that these kinds of students were simply lacking maturity and were eager to leave secondary school. Having taught English for many years alongside Media, it has also not escaped my attention that boys don’t seem as engaged with subjects like English as much as girls are. Research suggests that females find English more accessible and engaging whereas males are drawn more to subjects like Maths or practical subjects like Design and Technology; exploring this point from a psychological standpoint, it is often argued this is on account of English being more creative and requiring students to think in a more lateral and abstract way as opposed to Maths and DT which are more linear. Whether this is true or not is contentious, since to believe it can be considered too much of an assumption and oversimplification of a complex problem. It also assumes that male disengagement and unruly behaviour is not as prominent in these other subjects which again is not always true.

The year 11 Excel club has also given students a place to discuss their own views on why they have struggled at times with school life with a prevailing attitude amongst the group being that constant exam pressure and an expectation to revise was too much and that students felt teachers assume that they know how to revise. Whilst the reasons for male disengagement are varied and complex, it is important to note that misconceptions surrounding the issue can often exacerbate it further and speaking from personal experience, I have found that the first steps to understanding the problem of male disengagement is to try and avoid any bias or judgements when exploring the factors for why students lack motivation and focus in class. Often it is too easy to label this particular kind of student as unruly and forget that sometimes, disruptive behaviour can actually be a cry for help from students who struggle to fit into a system that is not set up for them.

Blog Post by Warren Byrne

Whilst at school I fell into the category of an underachieving boy, who lacked motivation and needed the right support to make sure I didn’t fall through the gaps in the education system. So, when I was presented with the opportunity to be involved with a new initiative called the ‘Excel club’ I jumped at the chance to change perspectives as mine once were.

But with great power came great responsibility. I figured that the best way to get a good starting point to get this program heading in the right direction was to contact home by making the dreaded phone call. But to my surprise the parents offered to come in to meet and discuss the ideas therefore forming a bridge between home and school. This then played a pivotal role in getting parents and students on board as they saw a holistic overview of the program and why we do things in the way we do at school. This led the boys to understanding the motives behind the program and what we could achieve in partnership. The first time I met the group together they were so positive and worked so hard in the initial sessions and I firmly believe that this was because of the positive link I had made with home.  

The meeting also gave me chance to reflect on what students perceived as their learning barriers. I started to realise the importance of a calm and orderly environment for boys; and clear boundary setting led to a higher achieving climate. I then made sure I modelled the behaviours I wanted them to adopt placing a clear emphasis on coping with anger and frustration. The boys said on numerous occasions that the frustration or anger led to giving up even if they knew it would harm their prospects. Then it dawned on me how big the battle to develop resilience would be. So, I began to work on being direct, clear and very explicit in what I wanted students to do. I planned in opportunities in not only the excel club but in my classes where I wanted students to fail and get it wrong. But then work repeatedly to develop different alternative ways to get to the right answer. The students could feel the jubilation and pride of failing and how it ultimately led to their success. In my favourite example, an introverted year 7 shouting instructions to the rest of the class in our shield wall re-enactment demonstrated what is achievable when the right support and motivation is applied to difficult situations.

Moreover, I firmly believe to be successful in school the teacher needs to make time to develop contact with home, as the students I have done this for are my students that are being pushed on multiple fronts. As an adult the worst thing I can ever hear is my mum shouting ‘Warren’, so I know that students work with me more as they know I am not afraid to make contact home on multiple occasions.

Finally, don’t be afraid of students failing in lesson. My philosophy was formed when I was told ‘it is your job to get them stuck and then unstuck’. If we can build a culture of challenging failure rather than being defeated by it, the achievements of the students will surpass expectation giving the students the chance to be number 1 in what ever life choices they want to make.

Blog Post by Olivia Singleton

I’m pretty sure there are points in every teacher’s career, particularly following a difficult or stressful period, when we question the purpose of our jobs. “What are schools even for?!” we cry, labouring over yet another set of books at 8pm on Sunday evening whilst binging the latest Netflix series (well… maybe that’s just me.) Recently, I’ve found myself constantly mulling over the purpose of schools and the curriculum, wondering how to balance the several spinning plates of Things We Must Do, as well as considering why we do them in the first place.

Recent academic research, alongside various new Ofsted reports, shows that schools are starting to focus on a curriculum immersed in imparting knowledge on a national scale. It has been argued that, in past years, “teachers and pupils [have] focused on more examination outcomes and less on the pedagogic strategies that might facilitate better access to knowledge”. In a bid to combat this, Ofsted want schools to take a “knowledge-rich approach” to the curriculum: gone are the days of 5 year GCSE’s and the overwhelming exam focus that goes with it, to be replaced with the “invaluable knowledge” that we “want pupils to know.”

For me, this change is fantastic. It encourages agency on various levels, from whole school, to departments and to individual teachers, it is much more holistic and “enriching” for students, and it encourages teachers to reflect on and adapt their pedagogical approaches. Whilst this left me feeling confident in terms of what we were teaching and why, I was left with one final question: how do I effectively impart this vital knowledge in a way the students will understand and remember? I wanted to experiment with ways to utilise the Learning Principles so that I was not simply reduced to a “transmitter of knowledge” in the classroom, but rather a facilitator of understanding. 

The first technique I tried was centred around challenging students to use their own cultural capital to grasp new concepts and/or ideas. I tried to draw links with TV shows, celebrities, and local news in an attempt to make my explanations clearer, comprehensible and relatable. For instance when introducing Year 7 to pathetic fallacy in English, we explored how Disney films use the weather to convey the character’s emotion and/or the tone of the scene. The visual prompt and familiarity of the plot helped them to understand and then employ a literary device which they had been struggling with previously.

At times, this method can be laborious and time consuming (don’t spend 15 minutes trying to find the perfect clip of the fight scene from Lion King like I did during planning), and also requires a relatively broad knowledge of the students in each class. Despite these drawbacks, this method seems to allow for a deeper understanding of new concepts, whilst simultaneously cementing new information into long term memory alongside the information that they have already processed in the past. As long as the task is specific, and leads on to some class modelling and FIT – so that the students can consolidate the concept(s) into their own work – I found this to be a huge success.

I also experimented with “the glorification of struggle”. Accidentally, I discovered that my top set Year 9 students always seemed to remember the information that they’d had to figure out independently, rather than the things I’d told them during the course of the lesson. I started to experiment with this when planning, restricting the information I gave the students and instead using questioning to elicit suggestions until we reached the correct explanation. In practise, I found that this challenged HAPs as it gave them the space to explore more complex concepts and ideas, whilst encouraging all students to think for themselves. Students seemed less afraid of being wrong, and thus began to share interesting and original thoughts which prompted several excellent discussions. With LAPs, I used pictures rather than words to help scaffold understanding, sometimes writing basic questions to help prompt students to think of a response. With some practise (and some emergency key words if things aren’t going to plan), this has become a really useful way to both engage and encourage students. 

In short, I’ve realised that employing a knowledge-led curriculum is much more beneficial for both staff and students, and that experimenting with ways of imparting knowledge can lead to great discoveries!